What's the reputation on Rock Island 1911's? Good guns?

DocRock said:

Those are both quite good looking too!

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Thank you! Im rather happy with them lol.

I would pass and hold out for one with larger sights.

Those GI sights are tougher to shoot with, for me anyway.

My original 1911 had GI sights.

I replaced it with a pistol that was similar, but with larger sights.

That has made a big difference for me.

Tallball said:

I would pass and hold out for one with larger sights.

Those GI sights are tougher to shoot with, for me anyway.

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A good point, and an additional point, to those new to 1911's, not all 1911 sight dovetails are the same.

If that's the 1911 you like, you may want to check to see if your preferred aftermarket sights are available for those dovetails.

DustyGmt said:

Anyway, the long and short of it is I want a 1911 in my life again and I just found an RIA 1911 9mm and I can justify it to myself pretty easily at the moment. How are they, anybody have good luck with the 9mm's in terms of function, accuracy and reliability? I'm a lil more inclined/comfortable to work on my own guns at this point and wouldn't mind taking on a project in terms of upgrades, etc. I

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The good news : I have a handful of RIA Tacticals in 38 Super, 9x19, and 45ACP, and they work well as shipped. Oh, I do toss the magazines that ship with them. For the 9MM Luger models, I use the Springfield/Leatham 9x19 magazines with the integrated front feedramp.

The not-so-good-news : As best that I can tell, Rock Islands tend to be made with rather loose tolerances on parts dimensions, and then assembled using a bin of parts to find the best one for the specific gun. If you don't muck with them, they're probably gonna work well, last a long time, and hardly ever break, as the saying goes. If you decide that you want to swap parts, you'll probably find that many of the 'drop in' 1911 aftermarket bits won't quite drop in the way that you expected. If you wanna dork with bits, a Springfield or Taurus frame (just the frame!) are likely to be far more dimensionally appropriate.

JTQ said:

A good point, and an additional point, to those new to 1911's, not all 1911 sight dovetails are the same.

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It's been a few years since I last wrestled RIA's, but I seem to recall that they do not use a standard dovetail.

I'll add my two cents since others have for me when it made a difference. For quick target acquisition, the larger Novak-style sights with 3 dots has a definite edge. However, when you actually have the luxury of time to aim with intent, those "small military" sights may surprise you. That "small" front sight allows for a precision that the larger front sight tends to detract from.
I guess it boils down to what you intend to use it for.

For carry, I greatly prefer something I can put on target right away, such as a larger front dot. When it comes to plinking, I'd rather go with a thinner front sight for precision with the larger white dot being inconsequential.

DustyGmt said:

I would agree 100%. I liked the Novaks on my Sig 1911 but the lil military sights, as you said, if you aim carefully, I could be surgically accurate with my Springfield GI 1911 .45acp. The trigger sucked but I could still put 7 touching at 25ft. I just love the .45. I could have just as easily decided to ditch the 9mm's in favor of .45 but I had more 9mm's than I had .45's and 9mm was cheaper and I had tons of magazines and superior capacity, even still, the 9mm just barely won. You won't ever hear me denigrate the venerable .45acp.

I have even recently thought about getting a .40 even though I've never cared to own one, not even a lil, but only if I find a Sig 226 or Glock 23 RTF2.

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I'll add a third to that. military sights give me the best groups by far. The gap between the front and rear is near non-existant, and the sights are so small they don't obstruct anything. They lend themselves very well to getting back on target by returning the pistol to its position before firing without looking at the target, and for well aimed shots they just work.

a few years ago I bought a double-stack RIA 9mm/.22 TCM combo, it was in the era when they were seling ALL 9mms with the TCM cartridge. I had extractor issues, and I sent it back. It was better, but not perfect. So I had a local guy install a Wilson Combat Bulletproof extractor, it runs the 9mm perfe tly, and the TCM pretty well, which I can live with. Dead reliable with all kinds of ammo including my mass reloads.

Bottom ,8ne, al, the problems I had were from trying to make it run 22TCM. I talked to the RIA guys at SHOT, and they told me if I send it to them, they will tune an extractor just for TCM, which is good of them, but I never got around to it. Ironically enough, right now, it's fairly easy for me to get TCM ammo.

mljdeckard said:

a few years ago I bought a double-stack RIA 9mm/.22 TCM combo, it was in the era when they were seling ALL 9mms with the TCM cartridge. I had extractor issues, and I sent it back. It was better, but not perfect. So I had a local guy install a Wilson Combat Bulletproof extractor, it runs the 9mm perfe tly, and the TCM pretty well, which I can live with. Dead reliable with all kinds of ammo including my mass reloads.

Bottom ,8ne, al, the problems I had were from trying to make it run 22TCM. I talked to the RIA guys at SHOT, and they told me if I send it to them, they will tune an extractor just for TCM, which is good of them, but I never got around to it. Ironically enough, right now, it's fairly easy for me to get TCM ammo.

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You should take them up on their offer. TCM is a hoot to shoot, and getting a tuned extractor for it would be nice (especially on their dime).

My HC TCM model is my most fun gun!

I have 2 RIA GI Full Size 9mm, both need to spread the mag followers open a bit, otherwise, won't lock slide on the last round occasionally. Both occasionally won't reset trigger by itself when new but wear in just fine, I think the grip safety needs to wear in a bit. Triggers are nice but don't necessarily shoot better than my other good 9mms, such as CZ75, Tanfoglio and Sig P6, about the same. I wanted a 1911 but did not want to add another caliber, and was thinking the 1911 weight and trigger should do better on accuracy, not really. I like them enough and added a 1911 in 45ACP anyway!

Love my RIA, bought it about 6 years ago and have never looked back.
Gut and trigger work a must to make any gun smooth, this one is slick and pulls around 3.5#

JTQ said:

The RIA uses a steel frame while the Glock and M&P use polymer frames.

The reason the Glock and M&P cost $500 is because they use an inexpensive polymer frame.

The reason the RIA cost $500 is because of inexpensive labor.

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True, but not my point. Inexpensive labor making steel frames doesn't mean lower quality. Why do some people think mass producing plastic injected molded frames is higher quality?

MAKster said:

It is interesting how many believe 1911s are supposed to be expensive so a $500 RIA must be low quality while that is the same price of Glocks or M&Ps.

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MAKster said:

True, but not my point. Inexpensive labor making steel frames doesn't mean lower quality. Why do some people think mass producing plastic injected molded frames is higher quality?

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I made no comment about quality. My comment was about how you go about making a $500 pistol.

You can either use a less expensive material, and labor saving methods, or you can use lower cost labor.

I would be all over the double stacks! Sure can't afford Para, STI or Infinity! 8p

Can't believe you guys are making me do this...any gun, 1911 included, are not perfect from the factory, they all need (adjustments) but, my RIA1911 9mm i bought 6 or 7 years ago has been just fine, no issues. Even exchanged parts from Ruger and others with no fitment issues, great CS if you need them, it is now a 45 because I wanted a 45 1911also...I swap it back and forth all the time. I have the officer model. M1911-M1CS.
Great starter guns for the guy who wants to make a great gun himself... for alot less...

I found a RIA 1911A1 today. Price was right and they even sold me a box of 45 ACP ammo for only a slightly inflated price.
Brought it home but this one will definitely need to be cleaned before I shoot it. The factory oil/preservative is oozing out of everywhere.

I like my wide body 10mm quite a bit. There's little on the market like it so it's not necessary to compare it to anything else. It works, better than other 1911's I've owned and shot with a higher price tag that speaks to me far more than fit and finish.

Most, if not all other manufacturers have this same policy.

loneviking said:

The bad is that RIA warranty only covers FMJ. Firing hand loads, for example, voids the warranty.

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They wont know if you fire reloads if you don't tell them. Ya'know don't as don't tell.

I have a Citadel (RIA) .45.
Couple 1000 rounds no issues, shoots well.
Is it as nice as my Springfield loaded, no, but it sells for about 1/2 the price.
Good gun IMO.

BTW 9mm in a full size steel 1911 makes for a sweet shooter, my favorite range gun.

Might look for a Citadel, they have the skel hammer and I believe wider slide cuts (again made by RIA)

Had a mil-spec model once. It ran fine on hardball, but would hang up at times on HPs. It needed a feed ramp polish. For a gun built overseas, you get what you pay for.

JTQ said:

The RIA uses a steel frame while the Glock and M&P use polymer frames.

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They use cast frames instead of forged like Colt and other better makes.

I've had one RIA, a .45 bought used (I know why the first guy got rid of it), it was terrible, RIA finally sent me a new one to replace it with, which I promptly sold unfired.

Paul7 said:

I've had one RIA, a .45 bought used (I know why the first guy got rid of it), it was terrible, RIA finally sent me a new one to replace it with, which I promptly sold unfired.

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Ive heard a bunch of gun guys say that about a number of different guns (and other stuff) and I always wondered why you wouldnt at least try the replacement?